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CEDAR RAPIDS — More than 5,000 signatures have been collected to get a $117 million school bond referendum for the Cedar Rapids Community School District placed on the ballot in November.

Twenty-one principals with the school district will lead a petition push from 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market .

Opportunities to sign the petition also will be available at back-to-school events as students prepare for the first day of school Aug. 26.

“I believe this bond is a turning point for our community,” Grant Elementary School Principal Stephanie Van Hemert said in a news release Thursday. “Passing the bond right now will send the message to our kids and our f

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